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Crap in a Sack… The 10 Worst Dog Foods… You May be Surprised…

Dog food is not just dog food as many people incorrectly assume. There are vast differences between the brands they choose to scoop into Fido’s favorite dish. Though the federal government has established minimal nutritional guidelines, some manufacturers aim for the rock bottom of those guidelines by adding fillers and artificial ingredients that have actually been known to adversely affect the health of man’s best friend. You may be surprised by which ones made the list of “crap in a sack.”

Purina Beneful Original Formula

It’s all in the marketing. While Purina falsely portrays their Beneful formula as a premium dog food chock full of nutritional bits of goodness, this could not be further from the truth. Beneful has been known to cause skin allergies and rashes, gastrointestinal problems, liver failure, and even death for a number of unfortunate diners. Dogs may not experience any immediate issues, but over time, the effects are similar to a human eating fast food for every meal. Beneful provides little to no health benefits and should be avoided.

Purina Dog Chow

No. No. No. Purina Dog Chow has been allegedly blamed for the deaths of thousands of dogs. It is claimed to be so harmful that a class action lawsuit was filed against the makers of this product. Purina denies the accusations, but a simple online search will quickly reveal an unfathomable number of complaints by disgruntled consumers who have unknowingly fed this “crap in a bag” garbage to their fur babies.

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food

This one may come as a surprise to many. After all, it’s even recommended by some veterinarians. Some feel this proclaimed scientifically formulated healthy mixture is worth the added expense, but a closer inspection of the ingredients will show they may as well toss their hard earned dollars out the window. Hill’s Science Diet uses the exact same fillers and toxic ingredients as many of the cheaper brands, and their mixture has been associated with several dogs dying from cell carcinoma. Other owners have reported their dog’s getting sick immediately following feeding them this misrepresented “crap in a bag.”

Walmart’s Ol’ Roy Dog Food

If corn, soybean meal, corn syrup, and ground wheat are what you want your dog to eat, look no further, but please be aware these ingredients can, and probably will cause severe problems with allergies and their digestive systems. These are the top listed ingredients in Ol’ Roy. While it may be a favorite choice for the budget minded, they’ll eventually lose any savings in vet bills as their dog’s health slowly declines from a lack of proper nutrition.

Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition Beef Flavor Dry Dog Food

All of Pedigree’s mixtures have fallen under scrutiny, but none more so than this one. Many dog owners have complained of their pet’s vomiting, getting diarrhea, or otherwise not feeling well after digesting a heaping bowl of this rubbish that’s supposed to help them live longer. The main ingredients are ground corn, corn gluten meal, meat and bone meal, and of course, animal fat for that scrumptious flavor all dogs crave. In case the animal fat isn’t tasty enough for them, they’ve spruced it up with a host of artificial flavorings and a huge dash of vegetable oil. Pedigree has even admitted to using pig hair in its Kibbles recipe.

Kibbles andBits Original Formula

“Kibbles and Bits!” “Kibbles and Bits!” Who doesn’t remember a tongue watering dog spouting these words as the food was being generously poured from a bag? Almost as famous as the commercial, yet not as widely advertised, are the number of dog deaths and illnesses this intoxicating formula has caused. This food is nothing more than a sack full of preservatives, to include BHA and sorbic acid. The list of ingredients is difficult to decipher, especially when two of them are simply stated as “animal digest”, and “wheat middlings.” When’s the last time you had a good middling? Avoid this chemically induced garbage at all costs.

Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Original Formula

Just like human babies, what goes into a puppies systems early on will have a marked effect on their growth and development. While Iams ProActive is advertised as being “Health Smart”, in today’s terminology this would be considered fake news. Many digestive problems, causing symptoms similar to parasite infestation, have been reported. Similar to other high dollar dog foods claiming to be better for your canine’s health, there is nothing listed in the ingredients to substantiate their blatantly false advertising.

Purina Dog Chow Healthy Morsels Formula

There is nothing healthy for your dog about brewer’s rice, sugar, salt, potassium chloride, dye number Yellow 5, Red 40, or Blue 2. Artificial colorants have been proven to be harmful to humans and animals when consumed regularly, and the other ingredients do little more than fill up a dog’s empty belly with harmful junk you wouldn’t feed to a child, so why feed it to your favorite faithful companion?

Alpo Prime Cuts by Purina

In 2015 Purina was issued a warning by the FDA for not complying with minimum standards during their processing procedures. The food was not being heated to its proper temperature and quality control on the processing line was shoddy at best. Alpo was one of the worst offenders and it was determined there was nothing “prime” about the product at all. Prime Cuts nutritional value is virtually non-existent.

Gravy Train

One of the most popular brands on the market, Gravy Train gives your dog that beefy meat flavor they crave. The problem is, there is very little beef in the mixture. A glance at its ingredients reveals the same low-cost non-nutritional fillers found in other cheap dog foods and very little to boost a dog’s health. There has also been concern that Gravy Train beef sticks contain melamine.

Using the standard criteria of what is good for your dog, and what is not so good, the following should always be avoided: Chemical preservatives. Anonymous meat ingredients. Artificial colorings, and generic animal fats. Dog food should have substantial amounts of meat-based proteins, and a fat-to-protein ratio of 75% or lower. Be leery of carbohydrate content and try to keep it modest.

Be careful when selecting which foods are best for your sidekick, and don’t fall prey to false advertisement designed to do nothing else but fill the cash registers of the manufacturers. If you wouldn’t put something in your mouth, why would you feed it to them?

A Diverse Collection of Short Stories by Gary Hays: The Authors Hand

For about as long as I can remember my daddy wasn’t right in the head. I’m told at one time he was but I was so young and it’s been so long, I have little recollection. I used to have a brother named Kyle who was fifteen years older than me. He died. All that’s left is a glossy photo of him in his Army uniform hanging over the fireplace. We don’t speak much of Kyle.

“What do you mean you’re quittin’ school,” shouted 4’ 11” Dottie to her 5’ 11” teenage son. Fully expecting resistance, and never measuring up to his Mom’s debating skills, Alexander buckled as his well-laid plans crashed and burned. “Mom, there’s a war goin’ on in case you didn’t notice. Guys are dropping out and signing up left and right”. “And what if I won’t sign for ‘ya smarty pants”? Swallowing hard, Alexander ever so softly blurted: “I’ll lie about my age, they don’t care”. And lie, he did.